Cabinet of curiosities & Inspirations since 2009

30 janv. 2012

‎"Women of the world today dress alike. They are like so many loaves of bread.

To be beautiful one must be unhurried. Personality is needed.

There is too much sameness.

The world seems only to have a desire for more of this sameness.

To be different is to be alone."

Marchesa Luisa Casati

Marchesa "chad nude male servants gilded with gold.

Wax mannequins sat, lifeless, at her dinner table.

She wore live snakes as jewellery, & was infamous for her late-night walks,

during which she would walk cheetahs on diamond-studded leashes,

while completely naked beneath her furs.

When both her wealthy parents died, Luisa (aged 15) & her sister were suddenly the wealthiest women in Italy. Luisa’s natural propensity for the arts & fascination with surrounding herself with beautiful, unusual things became a major part of her personality. She regularly shocked the aristocracy with her bizarre garb & enthrallment with the macabre.

She was tall & thin, with a pale, almost cadaverous face. Her huge green eyes were flanked by false eyelashes, slathered with black kohl, & she regularly used belladonna eyedrops to dilate her pupils. Her mouth was painted rich vermillion. "